H2O: Just Add New Girls Part 1
by Colemet Milinia
Summary: When an assignment leads 4 girls to Mako, new surprises take their toll. Supicions arise, paths are crossed, and nothing is as it seems. Will the girls and Will find the truth? ESPECIALLY when Will's little sister and her friends are involved. Part 1/3 NOTE: ONE OF MY FIRST FANFICTIONS. (This is some of my first writing. I hope I've refined my skills since initially writing it)
1. The Assignment

H2O: Just Add New Girls

**Story Backround****: Takes place in season 3, after Lewis leaves and after Will finds out about the girls. Try to figure out the rest.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own H2O, (sadly) But I do, however, own the OCs, Mary, Jessie, Anna, and LeeAnne.**

**Small Notes: This is my first FanFiction. There will be a Part 2. Please, please review! I really want to know how I did what you guys think of my first fanfic! ;) Based on reviews, I may or may not make this into a small little series of stories. Sorry about any line errors with seperating character point of views. Most will be fixed soon. Sorry if it's A LOT more messed up then I think it is, I'm new at this. But I hope you like it anyway. Enjoy :)**

* * *

><p>So, you know how they say all stories have humble beginnings? Well… I think this one is an exception.<p>

This story is just… different. It started with mystery, an assignment, curiosity, disagreement, power, and a little hatred thrown into the mix.

Yeah… Sorry 'bout that one…

But still. It's a cool one. It's very… awesome.

And it all started with Anna, Jessie, LeeAnne, and me, Mary.

* * *

><p>It's hazy how it all got started, but I think it was because of our school musical.<p>

"Ok everyone! We have NO practice in December. That's not good, because after we get back from break we'll be out of practice. So I'm assigning you rehearsal groups!" Mr. H said. He's our director.

Oh please, I thought, it's not going to work out for everyone, and if he thinks it will, he's crazy. Besides, I was only a singing shell as part of _TheLittleMermaid_. Big deal.

"You'll have four members in a group. Three actors and one crew. Don't volunteer with certain people if you know it won't work," Mr. H boomed. But LeeAnne stood up and cut him off.

I picked up my water and started to take a sip.

She jumped up and pointed at me and shouted, "Jessie and I are sisters! Plus, Anna and Mary live in our neighborhood. It'll work perfectly! Right, guys?"

Well, at this, I nearly choked to death on my water and almost did a spit take.

Oh no, I thought from the distant crew section, here we go again. This came to my mind when LeAnne stood up and interrupted Mr. H.

"Jessie and I are sisters! Plus, Anna and Mary live in our neighborhood! It'll work perfectly! Right, guys?" is what she blurted out.

Oh gosh. Eyes started turning to me. I hate you LeeAnne, I thought bitterly.

I hate attention. When the spotlight's on me, I go stiff. My mom says it's an "Anna-thing" and I'll get over it. Don't think so. But back to the situation at hand.

And LeeAnne wasn't helping. Loud-mouth LeeAnne is what they called her. And they were right.

But I think I knew someone who hated this even more than me. And that would be Mary.

No one else could probably tell, but Mary had a look on her face, one of true… well, it was a combination of rage, fury, upset, humiliation, and a lot of other things. But it was true.

Almost a year ago, LeeAnne and Mary had a falling out. For some unknown reason, LeeAnne decided to hate Mary and torture her for nothing. That's all I'll say of it. But I guess that's how the populars get their kicks.

But now, I think she regrets it. She's been kind of nice to her lately. And trying to wiggle her way back into Mary's life.

But Mary's not budging at all. I respect her for that. But LeeAnne's persisting. And it's really amusing.

So I could already see this all heading south.

Fast.

"Great idea, LeeAnne. You're all now a group!

Great.

* * *

><p>I stomped all the way home with the rage and mortal terror that filled me. The thought of just being in a group with LeeAnne made me feel bad.<p>

I threw open the door of my boathouse home and slammed the door behind me. I dropped my bag and plopped in a chair. I sighed.

"Hey," Will said. He had come up behind me and startled me. "How was school?" Then he saw my face. He brushed a stray blond hair away from it. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." I really didn't want to talk about it.

But he persisted. "Something's wrong. What is it?"

I spilled. "Mr. H put me and LeeAnne in the same rehearsal group over the month. SHE'S the one who volunteered us for it in the first place," I sighed again.

"Aw, I'm sorry, kiddo. Is there anything I can do?" Will asked, being the good older brother he is.

"No, no, it's fine. I'm mature. I'll handle it," I replied.

He gave a half smile, ruffled my hair, and then walked away.

I love Will. He's the best brother in the entire world. He takes care of me, tells me stories, and plays games with me. We look a lot alike with our blond hair, blue eyes, tan-ness, and tallness. He's my best friend, really. We tell each other everything. But lately, I feel like he's not telling me something. I try to put it to the back of my mind and remember the good. But it's getting harder…

Whatever.

"I'm going for a swim," I called to Will, "I won't be long." I get my love of water from his free-diving self, too.

I didn't even change my clothes. I opened the door, ran out of the boathouse, and dove off the dock.

I hit the water. It felt nice and cool. I stayed still as I sank deeper and deeper into the clear blue water.

When I stopped sinking, I slowly opened my eyes. My mouth slid in to a smile and I started swimming.

This is what I love.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe she did that!" I yelled. I was totally mad at the moment.<p>

"Calm down, Jessie," Anna eased, "Just relax." Even though I could tell she wasn't psyched either.

"But seriously, she knows Mary doesn't really like her. Why would she do that?" I was just glad we stayed back and had ditched my sister. I got enough of LeeAnne at home. Maybe we should stop by the Benjamins', ya know, make sure she's ok?" I mused.

"Eh… Not a good idea… I think Bella just walked in," said Anna as we passed their house. She glanced at the water to see a head that belonged to Mary pop up. We waved.

"Yeah, you're right. Plus, I don't want to disturb her swim. She's like a fish in that water." I chuckled.

"Yeah, no wonder she ended up being _The Little Mermaid _in our musical," said Anna as we saw Mary submerge again.

"Hey!... Guys!... Wait up!"

I froze at the voice. A shrill one that could only belong to…

"So what's up?"

LeeAnne.

"Nothing, just walking," I tried to say it in an annoyed tone that really said _Leave us alone._

But she's not going to take the hint, is she?

You're right.

"Cool," she went on. "So, I think we should get together and rehearse tomorrow. Good chance to get started."

"Yeah, LeeAnne, see about that…" I was cut off by her incessant phone ringing.

"Oops, got to run! I'll catch you guys later!" She flipped open her phone and began squealing to whoever it was. What a priss.

Anna must've read my expression. "Oh come on, she's your sister! Lighten up a little. Deep down you love her…" I didn't reply.

Well… I did.

* * *

><p>"So then I was like…" My thoughts cut me short, "Shelly, I'll call you back," I snapped my phone closed.<p>

My mouth peeled into a somewhat evil but sincere grin. Finally, I thought, now Mary HAS to spend time with me. Maybe she'll actually start to like me again.

My hope went away. I doubt it though. I mean, seriously what's her problem?

That's when the anger started coming.

We used to be friends and everything. It was always the four of us or just Mary, Jessie, and me. We were always together.

But then something happened. I don't even remember what…

But whatever. Pcht. Her loss. Who needs her anyway? I'm so much better than her anyway. SO HA!

But I wasn't so sure of my statement...


	2. Mako & Mermaids

Will sat on a chair in the small living space of their boat house. He treasured the cool air of the fan blowing by. It was really hot this year in Australia. No wonder Mary went for a swim, he thought.

His thoughts were interrupted by a small knock and then the opening of the door. Bella walked in and smiled, as Will stood up and went to give her a hug.

"How are you?" he said to her as they un-hugged.

"Good," she said and smiled again, "Cleo, Rikki, and I are going to go to the café. Want to come with?"

"Aw, I can't. I have to make dinner for Mary," he replied, disappointedly.

"That's ok. How about Saturday then?" Bella said.

"Sounds great," Will said. Just then, a knock sounded from the door. Will walked over to answer it.

"Hey guys," Will said as he motioned Cleo and Rikki through the door. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good," Rikki answered, "Are we going?"

"He can't go tonight. He can come along Saturday though," Bella piped up before Will had to answer.

"Aw, what a bummer," Cleo said, "But Saturday will be good too," She smiled.

Will decided to change the subject as everyone sat down. "So... have you guys been out to Mako? What's happened?"

"It's basically restored. The damage went away after Sophie and Zane clawed out the crystals," Cleo said.

"We just have to be careful now. You know, in case it's delicate now," Rikki sounded cautious.

"As long as no more strangers start poking around out there, I'm sure it'll be fine," Bella added. She looked at the time. "Oh! We better get going so we can make it to the café." They all stood up. Bella put on her flirty eyes. "Bye, Will," They gave each other a kiss.

"Ah, come on, no PDA, you two!" Rikki joked and everyone laughed as she tried to pull them apart from their hug.

"See you guys later," Will said as they headed for the door. Just then, the door opened and in came a wet Mary. The girls stepped back as Mary passed and held their breath. They released, as they didn't get wet.

"Be careful," Will leaned in and whispered.

"We will. Bye..." Bella replied.

Will turned on Mary. "Go dry off."

"Relax, it's only water," Mary said. She grabbed a towel and went off.

Will breathed a sigh of relief. That was close, he thought.

* * *

><p>As I walked towards the local café, I felt my mobile buzz in my pocket.<p>

I took it out to see a text message. It was from LeeAnne.

It read, "How bout we all rehearse at Mako on Friday?"

Mako Island? Hm... Odd place isn't it? Plus, I knew nothing about it. Apparently it was dangerous. Why on earth would she want to rehearse there? Well, I guess it was secluded, private, quiet, and easy to focus. But still... Odd.

I walked into the café. I went over and ordered a juice. I looked at my watch. Jessie and Mary would be here any minute. So I ordered juices for them too.

I went to look for a table. I saw Kim's older sister, Cleo, and her two friends, Bella and Rikki. I always see them together. Just then, Jessie and Mary walked through the beads at the door and smiled.

"Hey, Anna!" called Mary. Her hair was still wet from her swim.

"Hi, guys," I replied. I went to the counter and grabbed our juices. I still felt a bit of wonder and uneasiment from LeeAnne's text. It must've shown on my face. Mary figured it out almost immediately.

"What's wrong?" She said as her expression changed.

"Um... Ok, so I got a text from LeeAnne earlier..." I held up my mobile so they could read the text.

"Mako? Why there?" Jessie asked.

"No clue..." I said. Mary looked puzzled and confused too. And that's not like her.

Then I remembered seeing Cleo and her friends. They were older than us and lived here longer. Maybe they knew something, anything, about Mako. And why it, for some reason, appealed to LeeAnne...

I got up and walked over to them. Which isn't like me, I'm the shy one, but the girls followed my lead.

"Hey. Cleo, right?" I asked uncertainly, although I knew that was her name.

"Oh yeah, Anna, right? You're one of Kim's friends," Cleo said. She looked past me at Mary and Jessie, "And you're Mary, Will's little sister. And I think you're... Jessie?"

"Right," we all said in unison. Then Mary piped up and cut to the chase, "So, do you guys know anything about Mako Island?" she said, quickly and plainly.

They all glanced at each other quickly and then all looked suddenly uneasy...

"Um... Why do you ask?" said the one called Rikki.

"No reason really..." Jessie said. At that moment, Will came in.

"Hey, I thought you weren't going to make it," said Bella.

"Yeah, I wasn't but then I found out Mary had plans so I thought I could come," he replied, "So what's going on?"

Cleo looked uneasy again and said, "Your dear sister here just asked about Mako Island."

Will's expression didn't change, but I could tell he was a bit taken aback, "Why do you want to know about Mako?" he said to Mary.

"No reason. Nothing important. Just forget it," Mary said to her brother, "Let's eat guys..."

So. That was the end of that.

* * *

><p>Ok, so after the awkward talk about Mako, I decided to keep an eye out on Will and the girls. Something was up. And the other two could tell, too.<p>

They started talking all secretive to each other with the occasional glance at us. I could hardly eat because I was so anxious.

Then, all of a sudden, they just stopped. Ceased. Done. El end-o. And it just wasn't right.

Once more, this confirmed my ideas of "something up." My suspicions were growing.

I guess I was staring. Mary waved her hand in front of my face. "Woo-hoo. Jessie? Wake up!"

I snapped myself out of it and shook off my thoughts. I'd think about it later.

"You ok?" Anna said, looking somewhat concerned.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm… fine," I said, still wary of my thoughts.

I quickly finished up my food. I hurried Mary and Anna along too.

Then we stood up and got ready to leave. Mary went over and gave Will a hug from behind.

"I'll see you at home, kay?" she said to him in an innocent little sister voice.

"Yeah. I'll be home soon," he replied and we walked out the door.

When we were a safe 15 meters away from the café, I piped up real fast.

"Ok, so what was up with that?" I asked my two friends.

"I don't know…" Mary said in a far off voice, looking straight ahead and determined "But I'm going to find out..."

* * *

><p>Cleo looked around the café uneasily.<p>

Why did the girls want to know about Mako? she thought.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Will's sister Mary come up and hug him from behind.

"I'll see you at home, kay?" she said.

"Yeah, I'll be home soon," he replied to her. It sounded ok, but Cleo could tell from his face that he was distracted.

Then they left. The second they did, Cleo, Bella, Rikki, and Will all leaned in for a huddle.

"Ok what was that? Where in the world did that come from?" Cleo started.

"I don't know, but we ought to put a stop to it…" Rikki went on.

"This isn't good," Bella said. "Will, maybe you should talk to her. I mean she is your sister and-"

Will cut her off. "Guys, relax. This is my sister we're talking about. She's always wondering about random stuff. It's nothing to get worked up over. She's probably just curious. No big deal."

This sent relief through Cleo. But the worry came right back. And she started going off, letting her worry pour out.

"But her friends were curious too. What if they want to go out there? What if they get REALLY curious? What if-"

Will cut her off, too. "I'll put out the fire before one starts. No worries, guys."

"There better not be. We can't risk anything else," Rikki said in a cold voice.

Relief came through Cleo again.

But she still had a bad feeling about this…

* * *

><p>Ok, so I'll be honest. I really had no intention of going to Mako Island.<p>

I mean, who would? It's dirty and humid (NOT good for my hair), probably has lots of bugs, out in the middle of NOWHERE, and it's just… Ugh…

But it seems like something Anna, Jessie, and Mary would like. So I had to go with it.

But I don't see how ANYONE would like that place. It's just awful! I hear shark reefs surround it.

But I had to do something. I'll take one for the team.

So I walked down to where the bus picks us all up with Jessie. Anna and Mary were already there.

"So, what do you guys think about Mako tomorrow for practice? Sound good? Our mum said yes," I said.

They all glanced at one another slowly.

"Yeah, sure, LeeAnne…" Mary said "I just need to ask Will."

Anna spoke up then. "Sure… But how will we get there? We obviously can't swim all the way there… Well, Mary might be able to…" She chuckled a little.

"Don't worry," Mary said chuckling right along. "When I was eight, Will taught me how to drive a small crab fishing boat. We can take that."

"Sounds great!" I chanted. Then the bus pulled up and we trooped into it.

Yup, I thought smugly, sounds REAL great…

* * *

><p>The last bell rang and we started to leave school. I walked with Jessie and Anna usually until we got to my house. Then they walked on another block to their houses in the neighborhood.<p>

"So, how are you going to get this past Will?" Anna asked "I mean, he seems kind of… uneasy with the fact of Mako Island…."

"Easy," I replied "I'm not. I'll just tell him the truth. If he says no, then I won't be stuck on some island with LeeAnne or spend any more time with her than I have to. And if he says yes, then we'll go and get some rehearsal done. Maybe we can explore a little, too."

We reached my house. "I'll see you guys later," I told them, and then I waved goodbye as they walked off.

When I got inside, I found Will on the phone. He looked like he didn't want to be talking to whoever was on the other side of that conversation. And then I saw why.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Soph…" he said. It was Sophie, my older sister. She was always getting on Will about something.

Well, now or never, I thought to myself, I just have to ask him.

"Hey, Will?" I started. He looked at me, but wasn't paying full attention… "Could I go rehearse with my group on Mako Island tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure… Whatever…" he replied and then waved me off.

Now, wait, how'd I swing that? I thought to myself… Oh well. I could go. That's all that mattered.

"I'm going for a swim," I called to Will.

"Okay…" he said back. Then the phone conversation went on. "No, Sophie, you're not listening to me!"

I then decided it was probably the best time to leave.

This time I changed, but then I ran out the door, and dove right in.

As I sank down and started swimming, I started to think about how I got my love of water. No doubt a lot came from Will, since he's always been a free diver. He can hold his breath for a while. So can I. But he still can hold a little longer than I can. I'm working on catching up, though. We sometimes go on swims together. We should go soon, I thought.

I then caught myself back up in reality. I was swimming along pretty fast, but I stopped and looked around me.

I saw the dock that I dive off of. It's really dark under there, so I like to go mystery-shell grabbing at the bottom. I swam over to it and propelled myself towards the bottom.

I felt around for a shell. I found one and picked it up with a swarm of dusty sand. I made my way over towards the edge of the light to see it.

I found that it was a pretty grayish-blue conch shell. When I was about to swim up and put it on the dock, something caught my eye a small distance away. I couldn't tell what it was from this far, but I decided to stay in the dark shadows. In case it was something dangerous, it couldn't see me.

It got closer and closer. Whatever it was, it was long, the bottom half was orange and scaly, but the top half looked a lot paler. It had a big fin in the back of it. It got closer. And closer. Then I saw it. It was… a… a…

A mermaid.

My jaw dropped and my eyes got wide. But I decided not to freak out. I stayed where I was so she wouldn't see me. Something in my mind told me I probably was not supposed to be seeing her right now, and I'm sure she wouldn't be too happy about it if she realized.

I kept watching her swim around the area. I noticed how she was swimming. She had her arms together out in front of her and she was moving them up and down. Her upper body moved that way, too, which moved her tail and propelled her body.

I sunk down deeper into the shadows and decided to try the way she was swimming. I kept watching her from the corner of my eye. But I put my arms together out in front of me and started moving my upper body up and down. It really worked. I didn't pick up as much speed as her, but it still worked.

After practicing my new swimming technique a couple times, I went to watch the mermaid again. She just kept swimming. I sunk back as she started swimming a little in this direction then making a turn again.

That's when I saw her face.

It was Bella.

Ok, I REALLY was NOT supposed to see that.

* * *

><p>Will hung up the phone frustrated. He hated when Sophie called. She always said he was doing something wrong, throwing away a great diving career. He tried to put it aside.<p>

Mary came inside, drying herself with a towel. It reminded him to call Bella.

He dialed her mobile and rang three times before she picked up.

"Hey," he said. "How are you?" he asked her.

"Good," she replied cheerily "I just got back from a swim. I was even near your house for a little bit when I was swimming."

Will's stomach knotted up. "Mary just got back from a swim," he paused, "What if she saw you out there?"

Bella thought, although a bit frantic as well. As she thought about it she relaxed. "Well, I didn't see her anywhere. When did she come back from her swim?"

"Just a couple minutes ago. She went to go dry off," Will say this quietly so Mary wouldn't hear.

"Well, there you go. I was probably gone by then," Bella said back.

Will thought about it. "Yeah," he said "Plus, we're really close. If she saw a mermaid out there, she's going to tell me. I'll let you know what happens. I gotta go, Bella. Bye..." he hung up the phone.

Mary came out after that. She was dressed in fresh clothes and was brushing her hair. Will decided to speak up then.

"Hey, kiddo," he started "How was the swim?"

She stopped and hesitated for a moment. "Fine," she said, then continued brushing.

He was planning to elaborate, but then her mobile rang. She answered and then went outside.

For some reason, Will still felt uneasy about it...

* * *

><p>So, I walked out of my room from changing as Will hung up the phone.<p>

"Hey, kiddo," he said, and he caught me off guard as I was brushing my hair. "How was the swim?"

I stopped brushing for a moment. I was about to tell him about the mermaid thing, but then I remembered. He was keeping something from me. I could tell. Plus the mermaid was Bella, and I wasn't about to tell my older brother that his girlfriend was a fish. So I just plainly said, "Fine," and continued brushing.

He didn't look totally satisfied with that answer, as if he knew there was something more. Another thing he was keeping from me.

Then my phone buzzed in my pocket and I looked to see an incoming call from Anna.

Thank goodness.

* * *

><p>I dialed Mary's number into my phone and pressed send. It rang twice and she answered.<p>

"Hi," I said "Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing really," she replied "Just chatting with Will. I just got back from my swim, too. Now I'm outside,"

"Cool," I said. She started talking before I could say anything more.

"Thanks," she said, "you just saved me from a possibly horrible situation..." she faded out.

"Why, what's happened?" I asked.

I think she didn't mean to let on about whatever it was at the time. "Nothing..." she said unsurely.

I just decided to let it go. "So did Will say you could come to Mako tomorrow?" I asked her.

"Yeah," she replied "But I don't think he realized what he said. He was on the phone at the time..."

"Even better," I said. "I don't think he would really let you go. But now we can go see what it's like, and then just get out, I suppose..."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." she replied.

"Well, I gotta run. I'll see you tomorrow," I proposed after a bit of silence.

Mary seemed distracted. "Oh... right. Yeah, bye, Anna..." she said, and then the line went dead.

Strange, I thought. What's up with Mary now?

* * *

><p>The second period bell rang. I saw Mary in the hall at her locker.<p>

I walked up behind her. "Hey," I said. She jumped a little.

She turned around. "Oh... Hey, Jessie... What's up?" she said, but she seemed distracted.

"You ok?" I asked. "You don't seem... yourself."

"I'm fine," She said quickly.

"Ok..." I said slowly. "So you all ready for Mako this afternoon?"

"Oh right," Mary said. "Yeah, I guess," She seemed more alert after that. "I REALLY don't want to go but I REALLY do, too. Ugh."

"I'm sure we'll survive," I reassured her. "Just think of the good part of going."

She chuckled. "I'll try," she said, and then she closed her locker. "I have to get to class before I'm late. I'll see you at my house at 3."

"Alrighty. See ya," I bid her good-bye. I started walking down the hall towards my next class when I saw Anna. I thought I'd stop for a quick hello.

"Hey Anna," I said to her.

"Oh, hey, Jessie." She said with a smile. "What's up?"

"Nothing much..." I replied nonchalantly. "Hey, just out of curiosity, did you notice anything... different about Mary this morning?"

"I haven't talked to her much yet today. Why, what's happened?" she asked.

"Nothing's happened... But she just seems... I dunno, out of it," I told her.

"Oh..." she said. "Odd... Maybe it's just Mary being Mary. I wouldn't worry too much of it."

"Right... Well, I should get to class before Mrs. Trez has a hissy fit," I said "I'll see you later for Mako."

"Ok," Anna said. "Bye," and she said, and then walked off.

As I walked toward my algebra class, I tried to convince myself that everything with Mary was fine and that she was just being Mary.

But for some reason, I just couldn't.


	3. Trips & Worries

Jessie, Anna, and I all headed to Mary's house at 3 p.m. that Friday.

Oh great, I thought, here we go. Just what I need. Salty sea water, gravelly sand, gross mud, and poisonous bugs to start off my weekend. Yay. I sighed.

"Was that a sigh I heard?" Jessie pestered "Well, this was YOUR idea. Back out now if you want…"

I lightly panicked. This was my possible ticket back in. No way was I letting it go. "No, no, I'm fine. Let's do this," I said quickly. I breathed a mental sigh of relief.

"Um, LeeAnne?" Anna said somewhat timidly to me "Why did you wear those sandals?"

"Yeah, LeeAnne," Jessie elaborated "Those are your best sandals, and you're wearing them out into the unknown wilderness? Seriously?"

"We're only going on the beach anyway," I defended my gorgeous sandals. "I'll be fine."

"Whatever…" Jessie muttered.

It was another minute and then we approached Mary's boathouse. She was already starting up the boat and getting it ready.

"Hey," Mary called to us from the boat. As we approached she looked at us and smiled. She saw me and her face went to a smirk. "We're going out to an unexplored island in the middle of the ocean, not shopping in Beverly Hills. Bad shoe choice," she scoffed.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Can we just go, please?" I said impatiently.

"Sure," said Mary, and then she rolled her eyes. "Let me just go tell Will."

She walked over to her front door and stuck her head in. She called to him "I'm going. I'll be back soon"

Anna looked puzzled, "Wow. No questions asked?" she inquired.

"Nah," Mary replied "He's on the phone again. And it always gets him." she smirked.

"Right then," Anna said "Shall we go?"

"Let's hit it," Jessie said. Mary started the boat and made it go.

I prepared for the yuck ahead of me and I scowled.

* * *

><p>The boat ride down to Mako took about twenty minutes since we went prettyu fast, which wasn't to long.<p>

Everyone had different expressions on their face. But they all somewhere had a touch of not wanting to be there.

Well, that's ALL LeeAnne's was. She scowled the whole ride down, looking more and more disgusted each minute. I could tell this was out of her realm, since she barely got in the boat without tipping it.

Mary's look was of pure excitement, with as twinge of reluctance that showed she was NOT happy to be on this excursion with LeeAnne. But she was trying to ignore it. She was clenching and unclenching her hand because of her excitement, I guess.

Jessie looked pretty content. She obviously didn't want LeeAnne to be here either. I know she loves her since they're sisters, but I guess living with her ALL the time, she'll need a break every now and then. But she did have a bit of excitement showing in her face, too.

I tried to keep my face relatively normal. I was daydreaming. I must've had a far off dreamy look on my face. Mary snapped me out of it.

"Anna, you ok?" she said to me.

I shook it off and looked back at her. "Yeah, I'm all good," I said with false enthusiasm, since I still wanted to be daydreaming.

"Good," said Mary with a smile "Because there it is."

She pointed at an island that we were approaching. You could see its sandy beaches and untouched green wilderness with the cone of a volcano on top of it all.

"Cool," Jessie muttered as her face peeled into a grin. I smiled, too.

I looked over at LeeAnne. Her face of disgust hit an all time low. When she noticed me looking, she tried to cover it and act natural and excited.

"Yay…" she said with see-through enthusiasm.

When we finally reached the island, Mary got out and pulled the boat onto shore. We all filed out as she said, "Let's practice over there," and pointed to a spot.

When my foot touched the sand, I had no idea about the amazing experience we would have next.

* * *

><p>Bella visited Will most days after school. They would study, or go for a swim, or just talk. She liked it very much. Sometime Will's little sister was there. She liked Mary, too. She was like the cool little sister that she always wanted.<p>

Bella walked up to Will's house, knocked lightly on the door, and then went inside. She saw him talking on the phone, so she waited.

"Yeah…" he said into the phone "Ok, bye," and then he hung up.

"Hey, Bels," said Will and greeted her with a hug. Bella loved Will's hugs. They always made her smile.

"So what do you want to do today?" she asked him.

"How about a swim?" he replied with a hopeful smile.

"Sounds great," she said. They both headed towards the door. But then Will turned on his heel.

"Wait, Mary might be out there. She said she was going out and would be back soon," he said uncertainly.

"Well, did she say where she was going? If she said 'out' she probably actually went out. I don't think we should worry," said Bella.

This eased Will. "You're probably right. Let's just go," he replied as he started out the door. When they were halfway towards the water, Will once again stopped dead in his tracks. He turned slowly to Bella. "Our small boat's gone."

"What?" she said how could it just-" and then it dawned on her. They both said it in unison.

"Mary."

Will started "You don't think…"

"No…" said Bella "I mean why…"

"But she…" retorted Will.

"Try calling her mobile," Bella suggested.

"Ok," Will said. He dialed the number and held it to his ear for a minute while Bella waited anxiously. He closed his phone. "No answer," he said "No signal."

"Uh-oh."


	4. An Island Adventure

We had been practicing for what seemed like hours when it was really only 30 minutes. I had had enough.

"Well," I interrupted "We've been practicing for a bit. I think we can have a well deserved break."

"Great idea, Mary," Jessie looked severely relived as she threw her script down in the sand.

"Yeah, I think so, too," Anna chimed.

"Ok, fine," LeeAnne added.

"I feel like exploring. Who wants to come with me?"

"We will," said Jessie, speaking for her and Anna.

"Count me out," LeeAnne scoffed snobbily "No way am I ruining these shoes on stupid wilderness."

I rolled my eyes plainly "Whatever," I said "We'll be back soon."

"Fine," LeeAnne voiced, and then we started off.

It was a lot of humid jungle. We made our way through different trees and vines, hopped over little creeks, and carefully stepped over trippable rocks.

"This. Is. So. Cool!" Anna said happily with a smile.

"I know! I hope we find something cool. Or slimy," said Jessie. We all laughed.

"Come on," I said, mid-giggle "Let's keep going,"

We walked for a little while until we came to a clearing. In the clearing, there was a small, majestic waterfall and a large creek, surrounded by tall, rocky ground.

"Awesomeness," I said to myself. "Let's go up."

We got to the top of the rocks. All three of us started looking around.

"I found a slug!" called Jessie. We all laughed again.

I came upon an opening, or a hole, in the rocks. I bent down to look down inside of it. "Hey, guys," I called "Come look at this-" Before I knew it, I lost my footing and fell down in the hole. I slid down to the bottom and landed in a little cave with another opening on the side.

When I had gotten to the bottom I heard cries of "Mary!" from the both of them. I stood up and brushed my self off. "I'm ok," I called up to them.

"Ok, good," Anna said, breathing a sigh of relief. I walked around the incredible cave around me.

"Mary, we're coming down!" yelled Jessie.

"No, wait!" I yelled "It might not be-" But before I knew it, Anna and Jessie slid down into a heap in the same place I had landed. "safe," I finished my previous statement. "It's too steep to climb back up," I informed them "let's look around for another way out."

I started for the opening on the other side of the cave. I went through it, and the others followed. It led to another, even more magnificent cave. It had rocky walls and a deep blue pool in it. The water glistened in the light that was coming from the cone of a volcano up overhead.

"Wow," we all said in unison. "This is amazing," continued Jessie.

"Yeah," I said. I knelt down next to the pool, took off my flip flops, and stuck my feet into the pool. I felt changed after that. "Wow," I said absentmindedly again.

"Hey, Mary," Jessie said "Come look at this." I stood up and saw her and Anna kneeling on the ground, looking at something small. I knelt too and saw small blue crystals. There were three of them. We each took one in our hand.

"These are incredible," said Anna, admiring the crystal.

"Yeah," said Jessie and I in agreement. As I always do, I clenched and unclenched my hand in excitement. Just then, a wave of glowing blue light swept over the cave's rocky walls. We all looked at each other. Jessie stood up and walked towards a wall. I looked at my hand. Then I turned to Anna and said, "What just happened?"

She had a look of shock on her face that, if trying to hide it, wasn't doing a good job. Then Jessie spoke up.

"Guys, look at this," she said from a spot near the wall, motioning us over to come look.

It seemed there was a little indent in this special rock, three indents, actually, all shaped like diamonds.

"Guys…" Anna said slowly "I think the crystals fit in the indents…"

She was right. Each one of our crystals fit into one of the diamond-shaped holes.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I put my crystal in the correct indent. The others followed me.

At that moment, the cave came to life. We stood up. The glowing started again. It consumed the entire cave endlessly.

Then, a column of water rose out of the pool slowly. It was a tentacle. Anna knew something was wrong. She went against the back wall. But I could tell this was right. I stood my ground, and so did Jessie. But Anna wasn't chicken. She knew, whatever it was, she didn't want to take part. I respect her for that.

Then, the tentacle launched at us. It grabbed Jessie and me. It wrapped around us and caught us. It tried to get Anna too, but it was no use. Anna hung onto the back wall and fought it. But the tentacle got us. It dragged Jessie and I into the pool underwater.

And that was when we got splashed in for the wild ride.

* * *

><p>It all happened so fast. I had almost no idea what was happening.<p>

We all put our crystals into the correct indents and everything went wild. The blue glow fell over the whole cave, just swept through it all. A wind started blowing, and then Anna took cover against the wall from the fact of not wanting to deal with the rising tentacle of water.

At the tentacle's full extent, it darted at us and grabbed Mary and me. It aimed for Anna, too, but she fought it off. She was NOT giving in to that tentacle.

It pulled Mary and me into the water. We were pulled under the surface and then the tentacle let up. We floated to the surface and looked at each other. We had no clue what to make of it.

Then, the wall that we had put the crystals into the indents began shooting off glowing bullets of water that darted into the pool from a glowing base. Two of them hit each of us, consuming our entire bodies in a flood of unfeeling electricity, intensity, and power for a minute.

Then, all of a sudden a bright light coming from nothing shone through the top of the volcano. I looked up but it was too bright to see anything besides the shape of a full circle. I looked over at Anna. She was still against the wall showing a look a shock and horror.

When the light hit the pool, the glowing water bullets stopped and the pool started bubbling. It was so incredible that I didn't know if it was real.

The blue, alive glow swept through the cave again. At that point the light passed over the cone of the volcano top and the bubbling water ceased. Actually, everything ceased, froze, stopped.

We all looked back and forth from one another. Anna still had the same look on her face. We didn't know what to do. It just left us with one question.

What just happened?


	5. The Aftermath

Before Will knew it, Cleo and Rikki were standing outside hiss boathouse too. They were all pacing, wondering what to do, what could be happening.

"Guys, let's not panic," Will stated "It's not the end of the world."

"Yeah, not for you, but maybe for us," Rikki retorted.

"Rikki, take it easy on him, it's not his fault," Cleo said, sympathetic towards Will.

"Can we please just focus?" Bella said, aggravated "Now what can we do?"

"There's only one option. Go out there and see for ourselves. We can't just sit here contemplating it until they come back from wherever and start suspiciously questioning them of their whereabouts!" yelled Rikki impatiently.

Will started in "Rikki, I don't know if that's a good ide-" But then Bella cut in.

"Will…" she said slowly "she may be right."

"But-" Will was cut off again.

"Are you willing to let your little sister and her friends find out?" Rikki said "Or possibly even risk it happening to them?"

"It can't happen to them," Cleo said "It's not a full moon."

"Well, still," Rikki went on "We can't risk it. It's too dangerous. So I'm going. Are you coming with me?"

"Yeah," Bella said quietly "We'll come."

"Good," Rikki said "Come on."

"Whatever you do, don't let them see you if they're there," Will warned.

"We won't," said Cleo "We've got this Will. We know what we're doing."

He looked at the three girls solemnly. "Ok," he said "I trust you guys."

They turned and dove into the ocean.

* * *

><p>I stood there after it all died down, just shocked. I had no idea what to do.<p>

I stare at Mary and Jessie in the pool. They looked back at me. Mary spoke up.

"Weird…" she said "But, ok, let's not panic. We're all fine, everything's intact, so let's just get back to LeeAnne. There's nothing to worry about."

They emerged from the perfect blue water. We began to walk towards the way we came in when Jessie stopped. She looked towards the wall with the special crystal-indent rock.

"Maybe we should take the crystals with us to, you know…" she broke off then said quietly "to keep them safe…"

"I think you're right," Mary agreed. We walked over to it. Slowly and carefully, we each took our own crystal out of the indents and held them in our hand delicately. As soon as they were removed, the crysatal indent rock moved and became hidden again. I was once again struck with the shock.

"Weird…" Mary mustered quietly "But let's go."

We headed out the cave. When we reached the other part of the cave, I could've sworn I hear a bubbling and small splash come from the other side of the cave, as if something was in the pool. I figured it was just my imagination after everything that had just happened. So I ignored it.

We reached the slope where we had all slid down from. "Ok," Mary started "I'm going to try and climb it."

It was pretty likely she'd make it. She's quite the athlete. And to my assumptions she did.

"Ok, now what?" Jessie yelled up to her.

"Umm…" Mary was thinking. Then it came to her. "Ok," she started to explain "I'm going to throw down some rocks and sticks. Use them to grab hold of the terrain and pull your way up. Got it?"

"Yeah!" we yelled in unison. We stood back as the materials started coming down the chute. Jessie did it first. She made her way up with a little struggle, but still made it.

"Ok, you ready, Anna?" Mary yelled.

"Um… I guess," I replied.

"Ok, then go!" she said.

I grabbed the remaining materials and followed Jessie's method. I made it to the top with a lot of struggle, but I got it.

"Phew, good, we're all here," Jessie stated.

"Let's get back," I said to them.

"Good idea," Mary said.

After following the path we had come on, we finally reached the beach where LeeAnne was once again.

"Where the heck have you been?" LeeAnne snapped at us. "You've been gone for almost forty-five minutes!"

"We got a little… caught up," Jessie said, trying to tame her sister "So relax."

"Well, let's just finish rehearsing and then go," LeeAnne said snippily.

"Fine by me…" I heard Mary mutter. I stifled back a laugh.

But despite LeeAnne's bad attitude and the rehearsing distracting me, I still had what had happened in the cave planted in the back of my mind…

And it wasn't coming out.

* * *

><p>Rikki and her two best friends zoomed through the water towards Mako Island. Their tails made it so easy for them to swim fast.<p>

How could Will be so stupid? she thought, Not wanting to go see if the girls were there was like secrecy suicide. She HAD to see what was going on. She was tired of taking threatening risks.

As they approached the underwater cave into the moon pool, they slowed down. They flapped their tails and swam smoothly into the pool. They didn't go in fully in case the girls were there.

They stopped at the back of the pool, still beneath the surface. They all looked at each other and nodded slowly. They slowly rose to the surface as quietly as possible and stuck their heads up.

Rikki didn't see anyone, and from the looks on Bella's and Cleo's faces, they didn't either. Rikki stretched her neck out and did a quick sweep of the area to be sure. No one.

They swam to the edge of the pool inside. They looked around closer.

"I don't know guys… It seems untouched to me," Bella stated.

"I think Bella's right…" Cleo agreed.

Rikki gave shifty glances around "Well I'm not convinced. Just because it doesn't look like they were here doesn't mean they weren't," said Rikki.

"Even if they did come out onto the island, the odds of them falling down that hole that got us here is unlikely, especially if they came here for harmless reasons," argued Cleo.

That set back Rikki. She started to think they were on to something. "Maybe you're right…" she said.

"Right then, let's go home," Bella said. They all submerged under the surface and swam out of the cave. As they swam out, they all took it slow.

Rikki was still pondering the thought of the girls being on the island at all. It still wasn't safe, for them or the girls. But they were probably harmless. And they're probably not too nosy either.

When they were a considerable distance away from the island, Rikki emerged to the surface just to look back. When she looked up, she nearly had a heart attack.

There, on the beach were four girls sitting together looking at some sort of book. They were too far away to try and make out the faces. And docked on the shore was Will's missing fishing boat.


	6. New Discoveries

After our exhibition to Mako Island, I went home and slept over everything that happened. It was all just so weird. None of that was possibly normal. It kind of freaked me out, but I was grateful to have such an awesome experience. I eventually drifted off to sleep while it was all still crossed my mind.

The next morning, I woke up a little early to take a shower before my day started. I crept down the hall quietly, careful not to wake LeeAnne. She'd have a hissy fit if she was woken up this early. I walked into the bathroom, closed the door and locked it. I was still thinking about Mako as I turned on the hot water, took off my robe, and stepped in the shower. The warm water felt really nice.

And apparently a little too nice. About ten seconds after I started my shower, something started to happen. My legs felt weird. I looked down. My legs started to turn into water. My whole body did. It rushed up me, spreading like wildfire. When it ceased, I looked down to find my legs replaced with a long, golden tail with a large tailfin at the end. A more-than-bikini-and-less-than-tankini top of the same color appeared on my upper half as well.

I started to lose my balance (obviously these tails weren't meant for standing) and I fell over with a huge thud. As I lay on the shower floor, I study my new transformation. This is NOT normal.

I heard my mom lightly knock on the door. She said "Jessie, are you ok?"

"Yeah," I replied uncertainly. Then I muttered to myself "I think…"

* * *

><p>It was a really warm morning outside, so I decided to go for an early morning swim. I still had Mako on my mind. I thought it would be a good opportunity to think about my amazing experience. I got out of bed, slipped on my cutest bathing suit, crept passed Will's room in order not to wake him, and carefully opened the door soundlessly. I walked towards the dock. I took off my cover shorts and my flip flops and placed them next to my towel.<p>

I stood on the edge of the dock and dove in. I hit the water and sank deeper. The water felt so nice and serene. But then something extraordinary happened.

I looked around me to see bubbles forming all around me. A power that I had never, ever felt before wrapped itself around me. When it stopped and I felt it let me go, I felt different. I looked down at myself.

There, in place of my legs, was a beautiful golden, scaly tail. A top of the same orient was there too. Well, this isn't normal, I thought. But it was so beautiful and amazing that I didn't care. I almost couldn't contain my excitement. I began to swim in the new way I had seen Mermaid Bella do it. And then I stopped.

Oh my gosh. I was a mermaid.

Just like Bella.

* * *

><p>After pondering the Mako trip for a while, I was still confused. I was really worried, too. Not about myself, but about Jessie and Mary.<p>

Something was seriously weird about that pool and the island altogether. Whatever it was, it had gotten hold of Mary and Jessie. That's when I REALLY started worrying. What if it did something to them? What if they were hurt? What if they weren't ok?

It stressed me out most of the morning. When I finally couldn't take it, I walked two houses down to Jessie's and then knocked on the door. LeeAnne answered it.

"Hey, Anna, what's up?" she said to me with false cheer.

"Um..." I said "I actually came to see Jessie. Is she here?" At that, LeeAnne's face fell a little, but she didn't want to make it too obvious, so she just put on her fake smile again, yelled over her shoulder for Jessie and walked away.

I was relieved to see Jessie looking fine. "Hey," she said nonchalantly.

"Are you ok?" I asked quickly.

She looked at me with a peculiar expression. "I'm fine," she said, as if what I had said to her was a joke. She was texting at the same time. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know..." I started. I was looking at the ground. "In case you were still... you know... Mako..."

Well, she stopped dead at that. She stopped texting and she just froze. Not a good sign. But then she came to.

"Yeah, I'm good, don't worry," she said.

"Do you know if Mary's ok? I don't want to bug her if I don't have to," I said. She stopped dead again, as if she had totally forgotten Mary existed.

"Yeah," she said "I'll text her and get back to you... Listen, I have to go. I'll call you or something later."

"Ok, bye," I said, and then I walked back towards my house. But I just kept thinking about how weird she was acting...

Something's up.

* * *

><p>After our trip to Mako Island, I decided NEVER to go there again. Seriously, I have not idea who would want to.<p>

It was gross, just like I had thought it'd be. My sandals got muddy, and they were my best ones. Whenever I would complain to Jessie about it, she just kept yelling at me, saying "LeeAnne, shut up and stop whining." She's so agravating for a little sister.

I had gotten nowhere in my friendship with Mary. Gosh, that girl was so pig-headed. I couldn't stand it. Plus they had abandoned me for almost an hour! I couldn't believe they had the nerve to drag me out there and then do that. What-ever.

I don't know what they were doing, but when they came back they seemed kind of shaken up. But I don't care. I'm above playing their childish games and being stupid and getting dirty. But I did kind of want to know what they were leaving me out of...

Whatever.


	7. Fears Relieved or Not?

Cleo, Rikki, and Bella stormed to Will's house. They were NOT happy.

They got to his door and knocked very hard on the door. They opened it and went inside.

After their display of violent knocking, Will raised his hands up in a joking surrender when he saw them.

"Whoa," he said "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. What's the matter?"

Rikki started "Can you explain why your little sister was at Mako Island yesterday with her three little friends and your boat?" she said fiercely with her arms crossed.

Will's eyes widened "What?" he said "Why was she there? I never would let her go there!"

"Well, she was," Cleo said, a bit more calm than Rikki did.

Bella spoke up "Will, this is serious," she said "You need to talk to her about it."

"I know," he said. He ran his fingers through his hair in stress. "Here, sit down. I'll get us some drinks."

After he got four bottles of iced tea out of the fridge and passed them out, he sat down too.

"So, what exactly happened?" he asked them.

"Well, we went out there to see if the girls had discovered the moon pool, like we discussed," Cleo began.

"It looked like they hadn't," Bella chimed in.

"But when we were swimming out and away from Mako, I surfaced and looked back at the beach," Rikki continued "And that's where I saw your boat and your little sister and her friends."

"They didn't see you guys, right?" asked Will quickly.

"No, we were careful," Rikki replied.

"What were they doing?" he said.

"It looked like they were reading some kind of book," Rikki said.

"Ok," Will said as he thought it over. "I'll talk to her when she gets home."

Then, as if right on cue, Mary entered the house. She looked around and saw everyone. "Oh, hey, I didn't know we had company," she said. "Don't mind me, I'll just do my own thing." She grabbed a magazine from an end table, sat down and began reading. Will looked at the girls. They nodded towards Mary.

"Mary," Will said "when you said you went out yesterday, where'd you go.

"Mako Island," she said without even looking up. Will was taken aback at the fact that she didn't deny it.

"I never gave you permission to do that," he said.

"Yes you did," she said, still not looking up. "I asked you on Thursday while you were on the phone with Sophie, and you said I could."

Will looked at the girls. They were giving him a combination of the "You're an idiot" and "Are you kidding me?" faces. He just gave them an "Oops" face and a shrug. He tried to make up for it.

"What were you doing there?" he asked Mary.

"We were rehearsing for the play in our rehearsal group," Mary said. She was acting so nonchalant.

"Why would you do it there?" he retorted.

"It wasn't my idea," she defended. "It was LeeAnne's. I guess it was just nice and quiet without any interruptions. Also nature-ish. I guess she chose a place that she knew the rest of us would like. But it wasn't too exciting."

"Who else was there?" Will asked. He hated having to grill her, but he knew it was necessary.

"Just LeeAnne, Anna, Jessie, and me," she replied.

That was enough for Will. "Ok," he said. "Just warn me better next time, alright?"

"Ok," she said as she was still flipping through the magazine.

Bella spoke now. "Well, we don't want to over stay our welcome. We should probably get home," she motioned to Rikki and Cleo. "Come on guys. Bye Will." She gave Will a kiss on the cheek and left with the others. After they left, there was a knock on the door.

"That must be Jessie. She said she would come by. We'll probably be around outside," said Mary.

Will plopped down on the couch. "Ok, I'm going to take a nap. Be careful."

"We will," Mary said. She went out the door. Will closed his eyes and began to relax. He finally felt settled about Mako.

But he also felt like there was something more...


	8. Together

Jessie came by my house that afternoon, after I discovered I was a… mermaid. Dang. I don't think I'll ever get used to that. When she came, she seemed very nervous, but serious at the same time. Uh-oh.

"Hey, Mary…" she said slowly as I came outside to the burning sun, a usual in the Gold Coast.

"Hey," I said back, shielding my eyes against the bright sun as they adjusted. "Is everything ok?"

She looked like she needed to tell me something. "Well…" she replied uncertainly.

I saw right through this. "Ok, out with it," I snapped at her.

She looked taken aback for a second. But I had to do that. It's how best friends get each other to start talking. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. After a minute, she came to. Then she started. "Ok… Do you believe in mermaids?"

Well, that just about stopped me dead in my tracks. What did she know? How did she know? Oh my gosh. A thousand questions swirled in my head at that moment. But then I stopped. And I realized. Hoping it was the right realization, I made a bold move.

I looked at her. She looked so nervous now, almost shaking. I slowly took her hand (only to find out she WAS shaking) and I led her to the end of my boathouse dock. I looked back and into my house's window. I could see Will asleep on the couch. Perfect.

Still holding her hand, I looked at her. And then I jumped off the dock, into the water, holding her hand to pull her along in too. It worked. She lost her balance and fell in. When we hit the water, I let go.

The change took about ten seconds, as last time. I saw the bubbles swirl around me and then I closed my eyes. When I heard the bubbles stop, I looked down to see my tail to be right where it belonged. When the bubbles cleared, I looked up and across at Jessie.

There she was, floating and keeping herself submerged under the surface, sporting a long tail that looked just like mine.

I felt relieved. I wasn't alone. And better yet, my company was my best friend.

* * *

><p>Mary had just pulled me into the water. I went down under. Uh-oh, I thought. Frankly, I was ticked.<p>

This was NOT going to end well. The change happened. I closed my eyes and heard bubbles. I heard it stop and I opened my eyes to see my tail. I looked up at Mary to see her reaction. She had a tail, too. We both smiled at each other.

I wasn't exactly sure how to swim without two legs since I'm used to kicking. That's brought another "Uh oh" into my head. But then I saw Mary swim to the surface. She had her arms in front of her and was moving her torso up and down which moved her tail, causing her to be propelled in the water. I tried it. It worked.

I reached the surface. I looked at Mary. She was still smiling. We couldn't believe our eyes.

"Oh my gosh," she said while laughing at this "We're..."

"Mermaids!" I said, laughing too. "I can't believe this!"

"Me neither!" she said. We were so excitedly silly. "But, I mean, how?"

We thought for a minute. It came to me. "It must've been..."

"Mako," we said in unison.

"But how?" she repeated."I mean, this isn't NORMAL 13-year-old puberty, obviusly. But what happened in that pool that causede this?"

"I dunno..." I replied "Let's recount. Ok, so i started when..."

"When that special rock was revealed and we put the matching crystals in the correct indents," Mary finished for me.

"Right," I said. "Then that blue glow started to flood its way through the cave. Over and over again."

"Yeah," Mary said. We just kept building on to it. "Then the... water tentacle... rose from the water and grabbed us and pulled us in..." She seemed anxious.

"Then the wall of blue light and... goo... shot power bullets at us. Which hit us..." I was becoming anxious too.

"Then the mysterious light appeared overhead and made the pool bubble..." she said. "And then..."

"It all stopped," I finished for her. "But this still doesn't add up."

"We're going to figure it out," Mary said. "It's a dream come true, but I want to know why _my _dream could come true."

"Wow," I said dreamily. We took a couple minutes to take it all in. We were mermaids. We grew tails when we touched water. It was the most amazing thing that's ever happened to us.

"You know..." Mary said after a minute. "We have to keep this a secret. We can't tell _anyone. _This is something big."

"We can't even tell our families? Or Anna, or..." I said.

"No one. We don't know who we can trust with it yet." She paused "People won't understand."

We were silent for a minute. But then I spoke. "This is going to be hard..."

"I know," she said. "But we're going to get through it. And the important thing is, we're going to get through it-" We spoke simultaneously again.

"Together."

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>


	9. PREVIEW OF PART 2!

**HEY! Here's a preview of H2O: Just Add New Girls Part 2. I'm almost done the first heat of chapters for putting it up. Updating might be slow, for I have a lot of Fic ideas that I want to start. But read, review, and enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span>Chap. 1<span>

I walked to the end of the dock outside my boat house. I stood on the edge and then dove in. I hit the water and sunk down deeper. Just like every other day. The water felt so good.

Ten seconds later, my legs transformed into my beautiful tail. I still never thought I'd get used to the fact that I'm a mermaid. I have saltwater in my blood and in my genes from Will. I was born with the love of the water.

But now I love it more. I'm connected to it. And I'm glad I am.

I swim around a little. Then I feel a pull on my tail. My heart nearly stops. I swim to turn around and give a mental sigh of relief. It's Jessie.

Jessie's like my best friend since birth. She's been there for me forever. Mary and Jessie. It just has a ring to it. And now, we're even more bonded. Bonded by the secret. Bonded at the tail.

I turn my body in the water to look at Jessie. We both smile. It's amazing.

It really, truly is. We don't know why, why it was us or why it happened. We didn't even know how. We want to look for answers. We DO look for answers. But we can't find anything.

I don't know if I want to know… I mean, can't it just be a wonderful mystery of life? I never really admitted this to Jessie. I feel like I should. But I didn't want her wonder to persist because of me.

What the heck?... It's not like me to get like this. Oh well.

But we're not ordinary girls. No one knows that, though. Let's keep it that way.

I swim up behind Mary in the water. We always swim right out front her house and then go out to sea.

The ocean is amazing, full of wonder and beauty and mysteries. I almost can't contain my excitement about it. Being a mermaid is incredible. But I still can't wrap my head around the fact. But it's amazing. I know Mary feels the same way.

Although it's one of the most amazing things that probably ever happened to anyone, it came with challenges. No more swimming in public. Or being wet in public. AT ALL. It's annoying, but it's worth the adventure. We have to keep the secret from everyone. No one can know, or we may end up in a dissection lab. And we all know THAT can't be risked.

I always wonder what would happen if we told certain people. Like Anna or Mary's brother Will. But we don't know who we can trust. And we may never know.

Having Mary alongside me through it is the best part. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

After I nearly gave Mary a heart-attack (which was VERY funny, by the way) we went for a swim. We swam in our special way and then we went into full-on speed swim. The bubbles swirled as our tails flapped in the water.

We came to a slow as we came to one of the reefs. There were colorful fish all around. It was truly beautiful. We both looked to one another, as if a mental telepathy told us when to. I motioned my head towards Mako Island. She nodded and we began to swim in that direction.

We reached the underwater entrance to the moon pool where it all began. We both came up and looked around the cave. We were transformed two weeks ago, so for the past two weeks, we've been trying to figure it out.

We kept looking around the cave, not saying anything. We were just thinking. We had no clue what to think. Finally, Mary spoke up.

"You know, it doesn't matter how long we stare at it. It's not just going to give us answers," she said quietly.

"I know," I conceded. "But there has to be a reason. It didn't just happen out of nothing."

"Well, we don't have to know everything. Can't we just let it be?" she replied. She looked kind of far off, like she was in her own world or something.

I didn't want to argue at a time like this, ESPECIALLY when she was doing her own-little-world thing, so I tried to be rational. "Aren't you just the least bit curious about all of this? Even a little?" I said.

"I guess…" she said uncertainly. "Look, maybe we should come back tomorrow. I'm kind of tired and I have a lot on my mind." She really looked like something was bugging her. I guess she shook off her little world. I tried to see if she would open up.

She sighed and decided to concede. "I've just been kind of hung up on keeping this from Will. I mean, we tell each other everything. It just feels kind of weird that this is an exception…"

I tried to reason with it to make her feel better. "Well, didn't you say he was keeping something from you? Doesn't that feel weird? You shouldn't feel bad. We have to keep this a secret."

"Yeah, I know…" she said. "Let's go. We ought to get back before our families throw a hissy fit."

"You're right," I replied. "Let's go."

We were still seriously wonderstruck. About a lot of things.


End file.
